In the rugged Micay Canyon of southwestern Colombia, rebel groups have beefed up their presence over the past two years despite efforts by Colombian President Gustavo Petro to negotiate peace deals with these irregular armies under a strategy known as total peace. The canyon is currently a bastion of a rebel faction that broke away from the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The canyon plays a key role in the illicit trade of both drugs and weapons. Dozens of remote trails are used to bring cocaine to small Pacific Ocean ports where it is loaded unto home-made submarines that travel to Central America. They also bring weapons in the other direction.
